FCBARCELONA.CAT

26.02.2009 22:15

A comfortable victory (57-75)

Sònia de Alba

Regal Barça recorded an impressive victory in Berlin against an Alba side that offered little resistance to the dominance of their visitors in what proved to be a one-sided Euroleague Top 16 encounter.

From the start the Blaugrana were in commanding form and laid the foundations for their 18-point winning margin as they controlled the game from the opening moments. The win means that the Catalan outfit are now just one win away from reaching the Quarter Final Play-Offs as they lie second in the group with a 3-1 record, behind Real Madrid, who are top having won all four of their games.

Several hundred Barcelona supporters made the trip to the impressive O2 Arena in the German capital, where the Final Four will be played this term, and they were able to enjoy a great game from their side. The German outfit did all they could to stay in the match, but they were unable to cope even though they had previously run Olimpia, TAU and Real Madrid close at home.

Barcelona in good form

Alba were rarely involved in the first half as they started slowly and took almost five minutes to score their first basket, which Casey Jacobsen netted, but even that did not alter the rhythm that had been set as Barcelona continued to press and score points at the other end. At the end of the first period the visitors were ahead 10-18 thanks to good work from Victor Sada, in particular.

While Barça's defence was effective, Alba's forward line were not and it was that combination that saw the second period become even more favourable to Barcelona as they won it 9-22. Andersen and Roger Grimau stood out while Fran Vazquez was also in great form as he netted the last points of the half with Sada assisting. Going in at the break 19-40 meant that Barça could relax and enjoy the third and fourth periods.

The visitors were careful never to lose focus though, and continued to play with intensity that meant that Alba were rarely able to gain a foothold in the match. A 24-point cushion was created when Juan Carlos Navarro sank a triple to put Barça 19-43 up.

28 points ahead

In the fourth quarter Andre Barret scored two triples and Navarro followed suit with another himself, while Jordi Trias pushed the visitors further ahead with two free throws and that meant that with just three minutes remaining the score was 45-73. With a 28-point lead established Nihad Dedovic went on meaning that the entire squad appeared.

Alba did reduce the arrears slightly as Hamann and Jacobsen score, but they were unable to effect the outcome as Barcelona won 57-75.

Next week, Regal Barça take on Real Madrid in the Palau Blaugrana with Los Merengues remaining unbeaten with a 69-73 win against Maccabi in Tel Aviv.